DAY NINE - WHY NOT JUSTICE?
I think most of us have a sense of justice within us. There are times when we see something happen and we clearly know it's wrong. Our anger tends to increase when we see someone wronged that is too weak to fend for themselves. An example is a child victim, an elderly victim, or a victimized animal, etc.
Often times, there seems to be an inner battle within ourselves about whether or not we should get involved in justice issues. I think this is for a few reasons.
1. We suffer from independence - Unfortunately nowadays we have built a society strong on "independence" and fending for ourselves. Sometimes we don't even want others to know we might need help. Even though we may be clearly suffering we would prefer to have the dignity of choosing to suffer fighting alone, rather than receiving help from a stranger. This, to me, is ludicrous! I believe we are meant to need each other - and that we need to drop our pride enough to receive help. One thing I have learned is that even at the end of our rope, we have a desire to be in control.
2. We are pressed for time. Is it not amazing how busy we keep ourselves these days? Whether it's because we have a short attention span, a need to impress, or a committment to succeed at something, we are flat out busy from the moment we rise in the morning till we fall into bed at night. Do I actually have the time to stop and stand for justice? Sheesh - most days I don't even have time to contemplate that action! I have had to purposely weed out items in my life that make me busy. This can (and often) includes good things too. Our personal well-being depends on it. I have had to choose to not attend events or limit my comittments based solely on the fact that God doesn't desire for me to burn out. I have protected myself from getting too involved in too many things by saying that I will need to pray about it first. This has helped me process first with God if this is what I'm meant to do, as well as process with my husband if I actually have the time to do it. If either response is no, I need to let that go. My natural instinct is to always be involved! I like my hands in many pies - and I don't like being bored. But if my health is at risk, and I can't take time out of my busy schedule to help someone else out, maybe I'm too busy!
3. We've been burnt before. On some occasions while walking and praying on the streets in Vancouver, I've come across a number of people who have been hard to deal with - some of whom have been so out of their tree, have chased me down the street and threatened me. (Don't worry mom, it all turned out well in the end when the cops came) And it made me wonder who would want to take time to serve and help someone that doesn't want help or is mean or even threatening? One of my biggest hearts' desire in our Vancouver neighbourhood was to love and serve the people, and it wasn't an easy task. It was a lot of hard work, effort, time, and self-sacrifice. And there were times people lashed out at me, or acted badly towards me. This did not deter me or my friends from following God's plan for us though. In fact, for every dangerous incident we came across, , there were at least 10 positive experiences to outweigh them. We saw our neighbourhood change before our eyes. We saw people become followers of Jesus and completely turn their lives around because of the cumulative effort of many people willing to continue loving them despite their circumstances.
4. We are illiterate. I think many times we do not understand what the actual unjust problem is. As an example, many people that would travel E. Hastings Street in downtown Vancouver would say that the major issues in that neighborhood are drugs, alcohol and lack of housing. I see these issues as symptomatic of a much larger issue - mental health. We have had many government groups, and people groups want to help the crises in the downtown Eastside by suggesting they set up more drug and alcohol rehabs and more housing facilities. Although these are needed and helpful, they will not deal with the actual problem at hand. However, if there was more aid going towards the issues of mental health (alongside of the rehab centres and housing opportunities) I think this would help to gain a much more sustainable future for the people residing in this area. Being educated and wise about your approach with regards to justice is so important in seeing change stand long-term.
5. The problems are too big. Let's face it we live in a needy world. There are so many injustices in the world, and most of them are so vast it's hard to even know if what little influence I can give, is even going to do much to make a difference. I think one of the best ways that we can combat this is to be focused. Because there are so many things to "care" about in the world, I found it was hard to even care at all. So what I decided to do was pick only 1 or 2 things to invest in. This helps you to know you are doing your part without feeling overwhelmed by all the issues in the world. These focuses can change over time.
6. We don't understand. There's nothing more frustrating than fighting for something that you don't know the answer too. The truth is many of us struggle with why these issues are happening, and why God would allow them to happen. When an innocent child is molested or abused, or an entire nation is dying because they have no food, it is impossible to make sense of it. What we do know is that we live in a world where there is evil and where there is pain. From the beginning when God allowed us free-will (the freedom to choose whether we wanted to follow Him or not) it opened up a world of sin as many began to choose evil over good. Does God have the power to stop all the bad things in this world? I believe He does. So why doesn't He do this?
I think these 2 reasons are a couple reasons why:
1) Imagine a world where God puppeteers everything to be good. Think about what it would be like not to have a choice about what you did. God knows, this is not freedom. Nor could you have a relationship, in this scenario. Imagine finding out you could control everything your spouse did. It might be great for awhile, but then you'd find you'd get bored of it pretty quickly. Nothing can replace the feeling you get when someone chooses to love you. God's desire is so strong for a real authentic relationship, He would rather let you have the choice to hurt Him, than force you to love Him. Unfortunatley this choice (free-will) means that bad people can do evil things. This is why it is even more important to advocate for those that can't stand for themselves.
2) God's always had a plan to be in partnership with us. Instead of God granting all the wishes in the world, I think He desires for us to be a part of the solution. I heard once, that a majority of the worlds' poverty could be eradicated if those in developed nations chose to live a little less extravagantly. Imagine if you lived somewhere that had no access to clean water and you were watching your children die before your eyes, knowing that it could have been avoided had people been educated and encouraged to change their habits. This grieves me. But instead of losing hope, I am encouraged by so many people who are taking a stand, and banding together to see a difference, and this is something I want to be a part of. I pray that others will join in as well and together we can see change
Often times, there seems to be an inner battle within ourselves about whether or not we should get involved in justice issues. I think this is for a few reasons.
1. We suffer from independence - Unfortunately nowadays we have built a society strong on "independence" and fending for ourselves. Sometimes we don't even want others to know we might need help. Even though we may be clearly suffering we would prefer to have the dignity of choosing to suffer fighting alone, rather than receiving help from a stranger. This, to me, is ludicrous! I believe we are meant to need each other - and that we need to drop our pride enough to receive help. One thing I have learned is that even at the end of our rope, we have a desire to be in control.
2. We are pressed for time. Is it not amazing how busy we keep ourselves these days? Whether it's because we have a short attention span, a need to impress, or a committment to succeed at something, we are flat out busy from the moment we rise in the morning till we fall into bed at night. Do I actually have the time to stop and stand for justice? Sheesh - most days I don't even have time to contemplate that action! I have had to purposely weed out items in my life that make me busy. This can (and often) includes good things too. Our personal well-being depends on it. I have had to choose to not attend events or limit my comittments based solely on the fact that God doesn't desire for me to burn out. I have protected myself from getting too involved in too many things by saying that I will need to pray about it first. This has helped me process first with God if this is what I'm meant to do, as well as process with my husband if I actually have the time to do it. If either response is no, I need to let that go. My natural instinct is to always be involved! I like my hands in many pies - and I don't like being bored. But if my health is at risk, and I can't take time out of my busy schedule to help someone else out, maybe I'm too busy!
3. We've been burnt before. On some occasions while walking and praying on the streets in Vancouver, I've come across a number of people who have been hard to deal with - some of whom have been so out of their tree, have chased me down the street and threatened me. (Don't worry mom, it all turned out well in the end when the cops came) And it made me wonder who would want to take time to serve and help someone that doesn't want help or is mean or even threatening? One of my biggest hearts' desire in our Vancouver neighbourhood was to love and serve the people, and it wasn't an easy task. It was a lot of hard work, effort, time, and self-sacrifice. And there were times people lashed out at me, or acted badly towards me. This did not deter me or my friends from following God's plan for us though. In fact, for every dangerous incident we came across, , there were at least 10 positive experiences to outweigh them. We saw our neighbourhood change before our eyes. We saw people become followers of Jesus and completely turn their lives around because of the cumulative effort of many people willing to continue loving them despite their circumstances.
4. We are illiterate. I think many times we do not understand what the actual unjust problem is. As an example, many people that would travel E. Hastings Street in downtown Vancouver would say that the major issues in that neighborhood are drugs, alcohol and lack of housing. I see these issues as symptomatic of a much larger issue - mental health. We have had many government groups, and people groups want to help the crises in the downtown Eastside by suggesting they set up more drug and alcohol rehabs and more housing facilities. Although these are needed and helpful, they will not deal with the actual problem at hand. However, if there was more aid going towards the issues of mental health (alongside of the rehab centres and housing opportunities) I think this would help to gain a much more sustainable future for the people residing in this area. Being educated and wise about your approach with regards to justice is so important in seeing change stand long-term.
5. The problems are too big. Let's face it we live in a needy world. There are so many injustices in the world, and most of them are so vast it's hard to even know if what little influence I can give, is even going to do much to make a difference. I think one of the best ways that we can combat this is to be focused. Because there are so many things to "care" about in the world, I found it was hard to even care at all. So what I decided to do was pick only 1 or 2 things to invest in. This helps you to know you are doing your part without feeling overwhelmed by all the issues in the world. These focuses can change over time.
6. We don't understand. There's nothing more frustrating than fighting for something that you don't know the answer too. The truth is many of us struggle with why these issues are happening, and why God would allow them to happen. When an innocent child is molested or abused, or an entire nation is dying because they have no food, it is impossible to make sense of it. What we do know is that we live in a world where there is evil and where there is pain. From the beginning when God allowed us free-will (the freedom to choose whether we wanted to follow Him or not) it opened up a world of sin as many began to choose evil over good. Does God have the power to stop all the bad things in this world? I believe He does. So why doesn't He do this?
I think these 2 reasons are a couple reasons why:
1) Imagine a world where God puppeteers everything to be good. Think about what it would be like not to have a choice about what you did. God knows, this is not freedom. Nor could you have a relationship, in this scenario. Imagine finding out you could control everything your spouse did. It might be great for awhile, but then you'd find you'd get bored of it pretty quickly. Nothing can replace the feeling you get when someone chooses to love you. God's desire is so strong for a real authentic relationship, He would rather let you have the choice to hurt Him, than force you to love Him. Unfortunatley this choice (free-will) means that bad people can do evil things. This is why it is even more important to advocate for those that can't stand for themselves.
2) God's always had a plan to be in partnership with us. Instead of God granting all the wishes in the world, I think He desires for us to be a part of the solution. I heard once, that a majority of the worlds' poverty could be eradicated if those in developed nations chose to live a little less extravagantly. Imagine if you lived somewhere that had no access to clean water and you were watching your children die before your eyes, knowing that it could have been avoided had people been educated and encouraged to change their habits. This grieves me. But instead of losing hope, I am encouraged by so many people who are taking a stand, and banding together to see a difference, and this is something I want to be a part of. I pray that others will join in as well and together we can see change
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